The Prince And The Fox
by Smex Lemur
Summary: His biggest wish was to help the Prince, but how could he do that when he was a fox? Your deepest desires can be fulfilled though... and that's exactly what happened to him. SasuNaru, AU.
1. Prologue

**AN: **Believe it or not, but this was actually inspired by both 'the Little Mermaid' (Disney) and 'Princess TuTu' (anime xD). And it's the same in some ways, especially this first chapter, but it'll be much different later on. It's just the basic concept of a being having a wish and doing anything to make it come true, even changing into someone else… kinda like that o.o.

And I really like fairytales and all that jazz, so I thought it would be nice to make one with the Naruto-characters n.n

Also, this prologue is the only one in this kind of POV. Regular POV in the next chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything. Not the 'Little Mermaid' nor 'Naruto', nor do I own 'Princess TuTu'. I'm just someone with a lack of life and who enjoys writing shounen ai and yaoi.

**The Prince And The Fox**

By SmexLemur, worship her!

**Prologue**

**NARUTO POV**

I wish I could do something for the Prince.

The Prince always sits near the riverbank, just staring at his own reflection. At first I thought he was vain and liked to look in a mirror, but then I realised he didn't really _look_ at himself. He just stared, he just spaced out. I know what he's thinking about, I think. He's handsome, at least I think he is. It's weird for someone like me to think a human is handsome, but he is. I like his black hair, eyes and his pale skin. Even though he always sits in the sun, it doesn't seem to affect him. He's like a creature of the night—slender, dark. Perhaps his looks were the thing that attracted me to him.

I shake my head—no, that wasn't it. It was something else.

His eyes are empty, they're dull. Despite their beautiful black colour, his eyes reflect something I recognise.

He seems lonely, like me. Yes, that's what attracted me—the loneliness I saw. I wanted to heal that.

I sometimes go over there and sit with him. He doesn't look at me, but he sometimes pets me and feeds me. He seems to be emotionless and just a body without a heart and mind. I don't understand—did he lose his heart? I know he's sad, I can feel it, so that must mean he has one, right?

I really wish I could talk to him.

But I don't know if he needs me. There are a lot of human girls following him around and fawning over him, but he doesn't seem to notice them. I can understand that, I wouldn't really like it either, though it would be nice to have some people around. The others don't like me, because I enjoy the company of humans more, for some weird reason.

But I understand him. Despite all of those humans around him, he's still lonely, because he needs someone else to talk with him and be with him. I don't know who it is, but it has to be someone very special for him to acknowledge.

"Kitsune," he mutters as I sit next to him on the small wooden dock. It's near the palace—he always sneaks out of there to sit at this river. Usually a weird man with a mask comes to get him. I like the silence though, it's somehow comfortable. My name isn't really Kitsune by the way, but how could he know? I can't introduce myself properly. I don't know his real name either, I just know that people call him 'Prince' or 'Your Highness'. I glance up at him, but he doesn't look back at me—he never does that. He always stares at the water, emotionless.

Then again, I am only a fox. Why would he want to talk to me? It's not like I can talk back.

He lets out a sigh and stands up, brushing off his clothes and stuffing his hands in his pocket. I don't know how long he's been sitting here—I just arrived actually, but it seems he's going back to the palace already. He always goes when the sun starts to set, I don't know why he does that. Sometimes he stays a bit longer.

"I forgot to bring you food," he mutters softly, giving me a small pat on the head. My ears perk up a bit and I look at him curiously. "I'll bring some tomorrow, Kitsune." With that, he leaves me again, sitting on the dock. I sigh—it's no fun being a fox.

I really wish I could help him, fix whatever it is that broke him. If I did that, I'd be happy and I think I would even be willing to die if I could help.

"_You want to help him?" _I perk my ears and look around. I could swear I heard a voice. But I don't see anything, save for the fly that's buzzing around my head. Maybe he's the one who said that? But that's strange, not even I can understand what flies say—they usually seem to be saying nonsense. It might be just my imagination though.

"_It isn't, young Fox,"_ I look around again. I _know_ I heard something. Then an image suddenly appears over the river and I blink once. At first, I thought it was a giant fox and I was right. But he doesn't look like all others—this one has nine tails and is much, much bigger. He's almost as big as the palace, I think. And he looks very vicious, but maybe that's because he's bigger than the regular fox is—I don't know. _"I can make your wish come true," _he says to me. My wish?

I could meet the Prince? I could help him?

"What do you want in return?" I ask him, narrowing my eyes. I know my species—they are very clever and shrewd. If I would accept something like this without asking what the catch is, I might be in big trouble. He cackles at me, the sound is deep and rumbles through the entire forest.

"_I do not need anything, what could a small fox like you offer me? I only need you to help the Prince to find his emotions again and. that you will heal his wounds." _

"What's in it for you?" I shoot back at him. The big fox narrows his eyes at me as well. "And who the hell are you anyway?"

"_I'm Kyuubi no Kitsune, a fox demon," _ he replies, laughing again. _"I like your nerve, kit. There's nothing in it for me, besides repaying a debt I still owed the Uchiha clan. This way, my debt is repaid." _ Uchiha? Is that the Prince's name? It's kind of weird.

"What makes you think I can help him?" I demand of him. He blinks once. This fox… I can see that he's really old. I know the stories about Kitsune's, since I asked the other foxes after the Prince started to call me that. I asked them what it meant and they began to tell me a lot of stories of these demons. This Kitsune's eyes hold a certain wisdom I've never seen before, as if he has been on the earth much longer than any other being.

"_You seem to want it. The Prince can't save himself, he needs someone else, and you are the only one who would give anything to help him—that is why I will make you human," _he tells me. My small heart pounds loudly. I can be a human? If this is a dream, I never want to wake up. _"But only for one spring can you be. If you have not healed him and shown him the love he needs, you will change back. I do not want to waste energy—if you don't succeed, I will just have to find someone else. Also, you cannot tell him your true feelings, nor that you were once a fox."_

"My true feelings?" I ask him, tilting my head in confusion. The fox laughs

"_You'll understand." _I nod and let it slip—like he said, I'll understand.

Somehow, I'm pretty sure of myself. I know I can help him and I will.

"_Good," _the demon says. I blink at him once, wondering if I should kiss him or something to change. I shake my head quickly—I would do a lot of things for the Prince, but kissing a monstrous demon like Kyuubi isn't one of them. Yuck. Before I could ask any questions though, his tales start to shine and a red light surrounds him. He closes his eyes and I automatically close mine, due to the brightness of the light.

For a couple of seconds, we stay like that, until I hear him say, _"Open your eyes," _and I do so. My body feels weird.

"_Look at your reflection in the water,"_ I do again as I am told and look into the reflection. I let out a gasp—I really am human. My brand new blue eyes stare back at me and my blonde hair waves softly along with the wind. My skin is a bit more browner than the Prince's and—oh my God—I have hands and feet and legs and arms. The only trace of me being a fox are the three marks on each of my cheeks, which look a little bit like whiskers. I'm speechless—this was my wish.

And I'm also cold. I tell Kyuubi that, who laughs in return.

"_There are many disadvantages when you're a human and you'll have to learn to adapt. You need clothes to keep yourself warm, because you now have no fur anymore, but I'm sure the advantages of a human outweighs all of that, right?"_ I nod eagerly, the little fur on my head waving along with it. I crouch a bit nearer to the fox.

"Thanks!" I say excitedly, my new voice ringing through the forest. I can actually talk to the Prince! I can't believe my dream has actually come true. "What do I do next?" I ask of him and he laughs in return, shaking his head.

"_I've done enough for you, kit, you're on your own now. I'll see you again four months from now—don't disappoint me, kit. I might just eat you." _And with that, he disappears from me again, the last few words ringing through my head.

"I _knew_ there was a catch!" I exclaim triumphantly.


	2. Sleeping In The Nude Always Pays Off

**AN:** Thanks for all the reviews! n.n From here on, it won't be the same as Princess TuTu or something like that… perhaps it still has some things from the Little Mermaid in it XD Well, except for the crab and the yellow fish… or… well, everything XD. It just has that theme, that's all XD.

Anyway, hope you enjoy this next chapter!

--

**The Prince And The Fox**

By SmexLemur, worship her!

**Chapter 1: Sleeping In The Nude Always Pays Off**

Prince Sasuke walked through the forest, hands stuffed in his pockets and head lowered to look at the ground. It was pretty cold for the first day of spring, but Sasuke had never really cared too much for the cold. He preferred it, in fact. He went to the river almost everyday now. To think, to remember—he lived in the past still. He still lived in the time where his mother and father would talk to him, where his big brother would play and train with him.

He still lived in the time where they were all murdered.

He didn't let people be close to him, save for a small fox who would always sit next to him on the small dock. It was an odd creature—most foxes weren't tame, but this one always came to him on his own, whether he had food for him or not. Sasuke let a small smile on his face—he remembered the offended look the fox gave him yesterday, when he declared he hadn't brought any food.

Almost as if it could understand him… odd.

Sasuke didn't really mind the company, how could he? Most people annoyed him by talking to him and the fox obviously couldn't do this. Sure, the creature could be a little annoying by forcing itself on his lap to get pet, or by biting on Sasuke's clothes for some attention, but he didn't really mind.

On one or two occasions, Sasuke had contemplated whether or not he could take the fox with him to the castle.

Sasuke stopped in his tracks when he arrived at the dock that afternoon. There was something lying on it—something with tanned skin and blonde hair. Something _naked_. Perhaps it was dead? The thing didn't look up when he arrived—then again, Sasuke usually was rather quiet.

He raised an eyebrow as he approached the thing carefully. He crouched besides it and turned it around, only to find a boy about his age blinking up at him sheepishly. Sasuke gasped when he saw his face—this boy was gorgeous. He particularly liked his big blue eyes and those strange whisker-like marks on each side of his cheek.

The boy shivered and Sasuke could see goose bumps forming themselves on his skin, which wasn't really surprising—it was rather cold and lying in the nude right besides a river wasn't the smartest thing to do.

He reminded him of something… a fox? Sasuke shook his head at the thought.

"Uh, hi?" the boy said, sitting up straight and scratching the back of his head. "Eh, what time is it?" Sasuke looked at him with an expression that said 'Are you kidding me?'. Apparently, he wasn't. This boy didn't even seem to know who he was.

"Hn," Sasuke said, stood up and brushed off his clothes. He didn't have time to talk to peasants like him… especially peasants who didn't even wear _clothes_. Not that he wasn't enjoying the sight or anything, but still. The boy blinked again.

"Not very talkative are you? Guess I should've seen that coming," he muttered more to himself than Sasuke, who had now raised both his eyebrows. "I'm Naruto by the way!" he said, grinning. He stood up, wobbling a bit as he did so (Naruto's excuse for that later on was that 'walking on two legs is harder than it looks!') and stuck out his hand.

Sasuke didn't take it.

He instead turned around and walked back to the castle. He had loved the dock and the river because of its peace and quiet, but now that this boy was here, he knew he wouldn't get any of that.

"H—hey! Bastard, get back here!" the boy said, running after him. But as soon as he was within reach of Sasuke, he fell to the ground. The Prince turned around when he heard the loud 'thump' and saw the boy lying on the ground unconscious, followed by a very loud, rumbling sound coming from his stomach.

Sasuke uncharacteristically sweatdropped.

"That idiot," he muttered. "Hasn't he eaten anything or something?" Of course he hadn't.

He was a fox and foxes were scavengers. But now that he had a human body, it was much harder for him and so he couldn't find himself any food. However, Sasuke doesn't know that, of course.

Sasuke looked around, contemplating whether or not he should take the boy with him. He couldn't just leave him lying there, right? Naruto's stomach rumbled again, this time followed by a loud snore coming from his mouth.

Sasuke stared.

This guy was a wonder when it came to body-noises. He sighed and ran a hand through his black hair, his bangs falling in his eyes again as soon as his hand had passed them. He grunted reluctantly, before pulling off his shirt (AN: -droooool-) and lying it over the boy. At least that kept him from growing cold just a little bit.

He then proceeded to hoist him up on his back and carry him all the way to the castle. It wasn't exactly a long walk, but when you had another boy on your back who was heavier than you, it did seem like it.

He mentally wondered why the hell he was even doing this. He didn't know this boy and it was obvious this Naruto person was some poor, homeless person, someone who wasn't even worth his time. So why was he doing this?

He shrugged it off. In any case, he would only feed this boy and perhaps give him a set of clothes and would send him away again. He had no need for unnecessary people like him, especially one who is such a moron. Besides that, he has way too much energy for Sasuke's taste.

Then again, he is beautiful… perhaps he could keep him? It was odd—Sasuke had never found himself being attracted to anyone before.

Arriving at the castle, Sasuke was questioned by many people again, wondering where he went everyday and _why_ and if he was alright. Sasuke never answered these useless questions, save for a glare—Kakashi, his teacher, was the only one who knew and was the only one who was _allowed_ to know. Kakashi was one of those few people he didn't really mind having around and was also his guardian until he would turn eighteen and could claim the throne.

"Ah, Sasuke," said guardian said, raising two fingers as a greeting. Kakashi wasn't very respectful towards him, but that was alright—his father and him had been very good friends. "What do you have here? Since when do you start molesting innocent boys? And why didn't you call me?" Sasuke blushed furiously and shoved the naked boy in Kakashi's arms. "Ah, I can have a go—"

"No, you may not," Sasuke hissed, wishing his guardian would just keep his bloody voice down. All the servants and guards and whatnot were staring at them, some with blushes on their faces, some looking disgusted and some looking rather amused. "Bring him to one of the guest bedrooms, once he wakes up feed him and clothe him." Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"And what do I do with him afterwards?" he questioned. Sasuke shrugged.

"Haven't decided yet," he muttered.

"You gonna keep him?" He received an indecisive shrug once more, before the younger boy strode off from the courtyard and went inside the palace, walking directly to his room. He needed some time to think.

--

Kakashi put down the blonde boy on the bed with his eyebrows still raised. It wasn't like Sasuke to bring home nude boys (though the silver-haired guardian couldn't exactly complain). He rarely showed any emotion at all, but, then again, Sasuke hadn't shown any emotion when he brought this boy in either—save for embarrassment.

A loud snore escaped the blonde boy's mouth and Kakashi chuckled softly. Even when asleep, Kakashi could read this boy easily—energetic, happy and maybe a little less bright than Sasuke was. The man vaguely wondered if that was why the Prince had brought him home. But then again, Sasuke didn't really like energetic and happy, huh? Nor did he like idiocy…

Kakashi shrugged and smiled a bit. The boy let out a loud snore again, rolling off the bed as he did so.

"Huh?" the boy's eyes opened slowly, blinking in confusion as he took a glance around. "Ah! Where the hell am I?" He looked around frantically, before his eyes, believe it or not, rested upon his hands and his eyes widened. "What the—Where the hell are my—?" he stopped yelling suddenly. "Oh, right," he then muttered, as if he remembered something. His eyes scanned the room, before they rested on Kakashi, who looked at him with mild amusement and curiosity. "Who are you?" he asked. He knew the man, of course, but not really his name. He was the man with the mask, the one who always came to the river to take away the Prince.

"Hatake Kakashi," he bowed. "I have some clothes for you," he gestured to the white button-up shirt and dark green pants lying on the chair next to the bed Naruto had been lying on. Naruto tried to remember what clothes were—humans put them on their bodies, right? Because they have no fur?

He eyed the clothes and tried to remember the Prince's. The thing with the two tube-like things would go on his legs, and the other one around his upper-body. He grinned triumphantly, pleased with himself that he was able to figure it out on his own, and put them on. He was annoyed when the pants kept falling off and when the shirt didn't want to close properly—honestly, humans couldn't do anything right!

That man—Kakashi—wasn't helping either. He was actually laughing at him.

"Let me help you," he finally offered, after Naruto's fifth try. "You're not used to clothes?" he asked, as he pulled up Naruto's pants and closed the button. The blonde boy shook his head. "Look, see this?" he pointed at the button. "You put it through that small hole on the other side and then it stays, okay? Try it with your shirt." Naruto did as he was told and found it to be very easy.

Ok, so maybe humans could do something right.

"My name is Naruto," he then stuck out his hand. Kakashi chuckled and shook it. Naruto grinned to himself—good, this human did shake his hand. Some of the other foxes had once told him that humans always shake hands when they meet and he had begun to doubt that little fact when Sasuke hadn't took it when he introduced himself.

"Please stay here while I get your food, Naruto," Kakashi said and walked out the room. Naruto had only heard 'bla bla bla FOOD' and so was waiting with anticipation for it—he hadn't eaten since he had been turned into a human and was very, _very_ hungry.

He looked around his room and decided to go lay down on the big thing in the middle—the bed. Foxes had told him all kinds of stories about humans when he asked for them and so he knew most things, what a lot of things were called and how to use them. Naruto had always been fascinated by humans.

He then grinned to himself—if the masked man was here, then that meant the Prince was here too, right? Maybe he was even in the castle!

Having that thought, he immediately jumped off the bed and walked to the large window at the other side of his room. He looked through it and could see the entire human city, Konoha, as well as a big open area made from stone. If he looked to his right, he could see the forest he had been living in until now and also the river and, if he really, really squinted his eyes, he could see the dock where he and the Prince had met.

Naruto saw towers standing close by and guards near the front gate and servants and horses and all kinds of other things—he couldn't believe that this was really happening. He had also met the Prince, if he remembered correctly and had also spoken to him!

… That thought made Naruto frown.

The Prince had been very cold towards him and arrogant. Naruto knew there was something cold about the Prince, but it was slightly irritating—especially the way the Prince had simply ignored him. But, how did he get here anyway? All he remembered was seeing the Prince walk away from him.

"Here's your food, Naruto," Kakashi entered the room again and placed a tray filled with food on the table in the middle of the room. Naruto eagerly bounced towards it and sat down, shoving the food in. Most of it, he had never even seen before but it all tasted so damn _good_. Humans sure knew how to cook!

"How did I get here?" he asked between bites. He didn't notice the expression on Kakashi's face (since he was too busy stuffing food in his mouth), who had his eyebrows raised, torn between disgust and amusement. If the boy was staying here, he should learn some manners first.

"I don't know the details," Kakashi admitted. "I only know that Prince Sasuke showed up with you on his back." Naruto blushed involuntarily. Was Sasuke his real name? It was very nice and if it really was his name, that meant the Prince really did take him to the castle with him, did that meant Naruto could stay? Before Naruto could ask more questions, there was a soft knock on the door. "Yes?" The door opened and showed a girl.

"Excuse me, but His Highness requests our guest's presence," she said shyly, looking at Naruto. Said boy blinked.

"Thank you, I will take Naruto to him right now," Kakashi answered. The girl nodded and gave a short curtsy, before closing the door and taking her leave. "Finish that," the silver-haired man said, nodding at the food on Naruto's plate. "After that, we'll go see the Prince."

Naruto swallowed nervously—would the Prince actually talk to him this time?

He really hoped so.


	3. Ah, fair Fox! Thou must serve!

**AN:** Well, an update! xD

I have to warn you: from here on starts the Sakura-bashing.

Believe me, I've got nothing much against Sakura, but she'll be a big bitch in this fic… I actually really like her (in the manga, after the time-skip), but nyah. If you like Sakura: then this is not your fic n.n though I doubt most of you yaoi-fans really care XDD.

Anyway, enjoy!

**The Prince And The Fox**

By SmexLemur, worship her!

**Chapter 2: Ah, fair Fox! Thou must serve!**

Naruto walked behind Kakashi curiously, looking around at all the things he had never even seen before. He didn't know what half of the things were inside the castle—there were weird pictures with humans on them (Naruto had tried poking them, but found out they weren't real. Kakashi had called them paintings), flowers that were stuck in jars and the ground underneath him was red. When Naruto had questioned about that, Kakashi had merely chuckled as if he had been a small child asking a ridiculous question (which, in Kakashi's eyes, it was) and had said that the red floor was called a carpet.

There weren't many windows, at least not in the corridors of the castle—to be honest, Naruto thought the atmosphere was kind of depressing. Then again, the Prince—now known to Naruto as 'Sasuke'—had been depressed as well, so perhaps it rubbed off on the castle? Or maybe the other way around. Naruto couldn't be sure.

They halted in front of a big wooden door, where Kakashi turned around to face Naruto. "Well, here we are, Naru-chan," he said cheerfully. Naruto cocked his head in confusion—Naru-chan? "Knock on the door first and wait until Prince Sasuke says you can go inside, 'kay?" Naruto nodded. "Good, I'll leave you here then." Kakashi gave him a small bow, a wave and then hurried off. The blonde boy looked at him with raised eyebrows, muttering something about 'crazy humans', before knocking on the door. There was a brief moment of silence.

"Come in," a muffled voice said and Naruto opened the door, heart beating rapidly in his chest. He closed the door behind himself and scanned the room—it was much bigger, twice as big he guessed, than the room he had been. There was a very big bed near a large window, a lot of comfy looking chairs, carpets and paintings. His eyes rested on Sasuke, who was sitting in a chair near the window, with an odd square-like-thing on his lap, looking at him intently. Naruto shivered under the cold gaze—it was weird. When he had been a fox, Sasuke's eyes would look at him with much more warmth in them.

"What's that?" The blonde finally asked after a long moment of silence, pointing at the square-like-thing on Sasuke's lap. Sasuke looked at him as if he had lost his mind.

"It's a book," he merely said. Naruto raised an eyebrow. A book? He had never heard of that.

"What's a book?" he walked over to Sasuke, who looked a little surprised at the insolence of this boy, and took it out of Sasuke's hands, eyeing it. There were strange things on it and Naruto couldn't really make out what they were. Sasuke stood up and grabbed it back.

"A book is something that tells a story," he said, finding it the most simple explanation for it. Naruto tilted his head a bit.

"Really? I didn't hear anything," Sasuke resisted the urge to smack his hand against his forehead. How could this person not know what a book was? Was he really that stupid? "Anyway Sasuke, why did you want to see me?" he asked him. Sasuke gritted his teeth.

"It's either 'Prince Sasuke' or 'Your Majesty' for you… dobe," he said, narrowing his eyes. He did _not_ like this boy's attitude.

"Why? Your name is Sasuke, isn't it? And what does 'dobe' mean? Kakashi said 'Naru-chan' to me too, but I don't know what that means either. Is it like a nickname?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the mentioning of Kakashi calling him Naru-chan—that perverted old man had no right to call him that! He smirked when he saw the confused look on the blonde's face. The boy, despite his idiocy, definitely was rather cute. Especially in those clothes—they were slightly too big on him and hung loosely on his body. The shirt showed a big part of his neck and a small part of his tanned chest.

"Yes, it's like a nickname," he said. Naruto perked up a bit, before he grabbed the book from Sasuke and opening it, curiously looking inside. "I called you here to ask you a few…" his words drifted away when he saw Naruto _sniffing_ the book. "What are you doing?" Naruto looked up, blinking.

"Eh?" Sasuke shook his head and took the book back again.

"Never mind. I wanted to ask you a few—_Pay attention!_" Sasuke growled, seeing Naruto bouncing across the room while he was speaking. The blonde boy _tried_ to focus, but he couldn't help it—humans had such a different world! He wanted to know much more about them. Naruto turned around and grinned sheepishly at him, while scratching the back of his head. "Where are you from?" The blonde thought for a moment. Now, what did Kyuubi say again? He couldn't tell Sasuke what he really was, right? And something about not being able to tell his true feelings… whatever that meant. Or else he would get turned back into a fox. Well, he didn't want that to happen! Some of the foxes had taught him a bit about cities—now, what did they say again?

"I'm from… Suna," he finally said. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"The city in the desert? You came all the way from there?" Naruto nodded his head quickly. Sasuke for some reason found it hard to believe, considering the way the blonde guiltily looked away.

"What were you doing here then?"

"I… was looking for a job?" He grinned sheepishly at him. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Naked?" Naruto blinked for a moment. That's right, humans normally wore clothes, right? Damn, what the hell was he supposed to say now? "Never mind," Sasuke said, shaking his head when he noticed the lost look on Naruto's face. This boy was so easy to read, it made him sick. "You can stay here in the castle—" he didn't get a chance to say anything more.

"Yatta!" Naruto exclaimed loudly, throwing his hands in the air and bouncing through the room, before he threw himself in Sasuke's arms. "Thanks, Sasuke!" he said, grinning.

The Prince's mind went blank. No one had ever, _ever_ hugged him. Not since his parents—

He quickly shook his head to get rid of that awful thought and focused back on Naruto, who had detached himself from Sasuke and instead opted to jump around. The Prince wondered vaguely why the blonde was so happy to stay—had it been his plan, or something? He shook his head—nah, idiots like him didn't have any plans. He probably got mugged in town and had been dumped by the river or something. Things like that sometimes happened.

He first wanted to keep the blonde as a servant in the castle. He would get paid a very small amount of money and would get to live in the castle, provided that he would serve, of course. But now… talking with the idiot was rather nice, he noticed. The blonde was interesting and didn't seem to know much about anything.

"Dobe, shut up," Sasuke snapped. Naruto did as he was told, though grumbled a bit. "In exchange, you'll be my personal servant, which means you work for me and for me only. You don't have to listen to anyone else, besides me and you will follow me every day. If you don't abide by these rules, I will have you punished. Understood?" Naruto was taken slightly aback by the harsh and cold tone, but nodded. He knew the Prince wasn't the most warm person, but did he have to snap like that? He was beginning to think this was a big mistake… if it hadn't been for the fact that he got to learn so many things about humans, he would've returned to the forest immediately.

Kakashi seemed civil enough though.

"Good, you start tonight. There will be a banquet, so you did come at a good time. Ask Kakashi for further information, you may leave," Sasuke said and waved towards the door. Naruto stared for a moment. "Well?" he asked him, with a raised eyebrow. Naruto childishly stuck his tongue out, before hurrying towards the door and slamming it shut.

Sasuke stared after him, torn between amusement and annoyance.

--

Naruto glanced around the corridor, wondering which way he should go. The Prince-Bastard said something about Kakashi and that he should find him, but where the devil could he find a suspicious masked man with silver-ish hair?

Maybe he should ask? Good thinking Naruto.

"Eh, excuse me?" he said politely to one of the female servants dusting something. The girl looked at him, a slightly snobbish expression on her face. "Do you know where I can find Kakashi?" The girl blinked, before she looked really annoyed.

"That pervert? He's probably reading some of his perverted books by now!" she exclaimed, making Naruto cock his head. "Go to the second floor, second door to your right. He's probably with his boyfriend." Again, Naruto became confused.

Perverted books? They had perverted books? Did that mean—Naruto blushed slightly.

"Thanks," he muttered to the girl, who didn't bother to reply.

--

An hour later, Naruto found himself wondering why he was getting dressed up like this. It was all the idea of a man named Iruka—apparently, he was the boyfriend the girl from before had been talking about. Kakashi was looking at them with mild amusement, especially when Naruto would get irritated.

"Doesn't he look cute?" he said, grinning a bit. Naruto scowled at him—he did not like being called 'cute'. Kakashi nodded, before pulling Iruka onto his lap and holding him there. The scarred-man blushed a little. "Still, don't you think it's weird for His Highness to actually make him his personal servant? He's never really taken a liking into anyone," Iruka mused.

"Mhm," Kakashi muttered.

"He's never had a personal servant before?" Naruto questioned them. "And why is he such a bastard anyway? He acts like he's better than everyone else!" Iruka gasped softly—this kid really did have some nerve to be calling the Prince that. Kakashi merely chuckled.

"Some things… happened in his past, that you don't need to know. I'm actually surprised you don't know about his history," he said thoughtfully. "Anyway, he's had them before, but none of them really lasted long enough since they got on his nerves." Iruka smacked his boyfriend, making Naruto wince. Humans sure were violent… "Ouch! What did I do?" he pouted.

"Naruto shouldn't be calling the Prince a bastard!" Iruka scolded, narrowing his eyes at Naruto. "He could be severely punished for that. I do hope you didn't call him that in his presence." The blonde pondered for a moment.

"No, but I did hug him and said 'Sasuke', he didn't seem to like that though," he said nonchalantly. Iruka gasped. "Oh! And I stuck my tongue out at him." Iruka gasped some more.

"You _hugged_ him and you're still _alive_?" he looked at Kakashi. "That's amazing!" Naruto looked a bit surprised and confused—was it really such a big deal? "Has he ever let someone hug him?" Iruka questioned Kakashi.

"Besides his mother? No. He never lets anybody even _touch _him," he replied, shrugging. Iruka smiled fondly.

"Maybe he's finally opening up a bit more," he suggested. "Ah, but Naruto," he turned to the blonde boy in question, who tilted his head a bit. "We should teach you the do's and don't's for tonight's banquet. If you do things like that when other royalties are around… well, I don't know if you'll get away with it that easily. So let's get started!" Iruka chirped cheerfully.

Naruto grinned—this Iruka-guy was really nice. He was really helping him! And not because he had to, but because he wanted to do.

The blonde sighed happily… it was like he found a family, even though he had been there for only one day.


	4. A Good Fight Solves Everything

**AN: **I like this chapter x3.

And thanks for all the reviews! I LOVE YOU XD

--

--

**The Prince And The Fox**

By SmexLemur (you don't have to worship her anymore, for she loves each and everyone of you x3)

**Chapter 3: A Good Fight Solves Everything… Or Does It?**

That evening, Naruto found himself standing behind Sasuke very uncomfortably. The clothes he was wearing were way too tight for him, but Iruka had called them 'formal' and 'suited for a banquet'. Iruka had also told him a lot of other things, like how he should call Sasuke 'Prince Sasuke' when there were other people around. Naruto didn't entirely get the point of this, but he decided it was best to do as Iruka told him to.

Sasuke didn't pay a lot of attention to him and had instead opted to ignore the blonde, who had gained every ounce of attention from all the other guests, especially from Prince Sabaku no Gaara and a rich nobleman, Hyuuga Neji. Sasuke had never particularly liked these two men, but seeing them eye his new personal servant did make him feel quite edgy.

They were both a little like Sasuke himself was—withdrawn, slightly arrogant, anti-social and the list goes on. They weren't really friends with one another, but these particular two guests were the only ones Sasuke even remotely acknowledged.

Gaara, a boy only one year older than Sasuke was (sixteen) with red hair and pail, green eyes, didn't seem to care much about anything. His servants seemed to fear him, as well as the people who lived in his country, for he is known to kill without batting an eye. Sasuke didn't exactly approve of this, but he didn't care either—what Gaara wanted to do to his country, was his business after all.

Neji was a little kinder, though he was obsessed with fate and the like. He didn't believe anybody could change his or her destiny. Sasuke didn't care about destiny or fate—he believed you could make your own future, if you really wanted to. Neji had freaky eyes and very long black hair, on the contrary to his cousin Hinata (who was sitting for chairs away from them), who was the exact opposite of Neji—Shy, low self-esteem and very down to earth. They didn't get along very well.

"Well, your Highness," Neji drawled, holding a glass of wine near his lips as he spoke. He sipped it slowly as he focused his pale eyes on Naruto. "I see you have gained a new one. He's quite the catch, though he seems a bit… unruly." Naruto blinked, wondering what they were talking about. Quite the catch? What did they mean by that?

"If you say so," Sasuke said lazily. "He's quite regular. Pretty stupid too—" at that point, Naruto's ears perked up. Stupid? Who was he calling stupid? Try living in an entirely different world first, before you start calling people stupid! "—He doesn't seem capable to read and he doesn't understand the basic rules of society either."

"Then why do you keep him around?" Gaara inquired, his deep voice bearing not a touch of emotion. Naruto shivered involuntarily at the cold tone. Couldn't all humans be nice, like Iruka was? Sasuke shrugged at the question.

"I needed a new one and the other servants irritated me," he replied. Naruto kept on getting more angry at Sasuke—why the hell was he being such a bastard? This Sasuke… this Prince was entirely different from what he had imagined him to be.

Then again… imagination is always different from reality, isn't it? Naruto should've known that helping the Prince wasn't so easy, because he was impossible to live with. But if anything, Naruto was stubborn—he wouldn't give up so easily.

"If you don't want him anymore, I'll be happy to take him," Neji pointed out. Naruto blinked—hell no. He wasn't going with creepy men like him! Sasuke shrugged.

"He really is quite stupid and useless, I don't understand what you would want—" At that point, the blonde fox-turned-boy had enough of it.

"Shut up, you bastard! How dare you call me stupid!"

The entire room (around two hundred people) gaped at him, with the exception of Sasuke, Neji and Gaara. Neji looked very amused, Gaara gave him a very tiny smirk and Sasuke… well, Sasuke just looked furious. But Naruto didn't care—this guy wouldn't get away with it.

"I can't help it if I've never really learned anything, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid! Who do you think you are? Just because you're the fucking Prince, doesn't give you the right—" his words were muffled when Iruka, another servant who had stood on the other side of the hall serving wine, had put his hand on Naruto's mouth.

"Shut up Naruto," Iruka hissed in his ear. Naruto gave him a glare, but stopped struggling against his hold and stopped yelling. He blinked when he saw the look in Sasuke's eyes and felt guilty and hurt—the Prince looked at him with utter hatred and loathing.

_Just like the other foxes used to look at me,(1) _Naruto thought bitterly. But he had deserved it, hadn't he? Sasuke had provoked him, right?

"Excuse me," he said to the other guests, before standing up from the giant dining table. He grabbed Naruto's wrist, ignoring the excuses Iruka was making for him and walked up the stairs towards his chambers. He pushed Naruto inside harshly and closed the door. The blonde boy tried his best not to let fear take over and instead opted to try and glare at him. His wrist hurt from being dragged up there, but ignored the pain and held his eyes locked with Sasuke's, who looked like he could murder something any second.

"Don't _ever_ disrespect me like that again," he hissed, grabbing both of Naruto's wrists again and throwing him against the wall. Naruto screamed in pain as he felt the hard impact on his back and bit his lip.

"You shouldn't have put me down like that!" Naruto yelled in return, despite the fear and pain and the little voice in his head telling him to stop right now. Not only was this ruining the very fragile and barely existing relationship they had, but it seemed that Sasuke was growing more and more angry and the hold on Naruto's wrists were harsher. Sasuke's eyes flashed in anger and he bared his teeth. "Just because you're a Prince, doesn't mean you're better than everyone else!" he continued.

"It _does_ mean I'm better," he hissed. "And even if I was not a Prince, you would still be inferior to me." Sasuke released the blonde, who fell to the ground, growling.

Naruto didn't know why he did it, or even if was a wise thing—but all he knew, was that he would _not_ take crap from a Prince who was apparently hurting and couldn't handle it. Before Sasuke could even react, Naruto had pounced on him(2) and had straddled his hips.

Under normal circumstances, Sasuke would've blushed, but right now—he was angry as hell. He couldn't remember the last time he was really angry, well, maybe he could. That last time had been when he was eight—after that, he had never cared enough. He didn't know why the blonde made him react so much, nor did he truly care.

"You fucking bastard!" Naruto yelled, this time turning the tables around: he grabbed Sasuke's wrists and held them above Sasuke's head, firmly against the ground. Sasuke tried to struggle and briefly wished he had taken guards with him. He normally didn't have them, save for Kakashi, because he was confident in his own strength. However, this guy… he was strong. Very strong.

"Let go of me now or I will have you executed," Sasuke hissed, in an attempt to free himself. He saw Naruto smirk at him.

"So? The Almighty Prince can't even handle me on his own, huh? Who's inferior now, you bastard? Come on, say that you lost and I'll let you go!" Sasuke gritted his teeth, refusing to let this boy—this homeless person—win. He should've never taken him with him. "Say it!"

"When hell freezes over!" Sasuke hollered, before bucking his hips. Naruto briefly was surprised at this and Sasuke took advantage of it by quickly flipping them around. This time it was Sasuke hovering over him, though his wrists were still captured by Naruto, who refused to let go. "Let me go now," Sasuke said, narrowing his eyes. He had to hand it to the boy—he was stubborn.

"When hell freezes over!" Naruto retorted, before giving him an odd look. "…What does that mean anyway?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Do you give up?" the Prince decided it was wise to ignore the question. Naruto shook his head stubbornly, looking away from the intent stare Sasuke was giving him. It somehow felt weird and made his heart pound faster, as if the Prince was looking right through him. "I'll stay here until you give up," the Prince continued smugly.

"I don't care, go ahead," he muttered. It was silent for a while, both boys not knowing exactly what to say, until Naruto couldn't take it any more. "You've got real prissy friends," he pointed out.

"Gaara and Neji?" Naruto nodded—Sasuke snorted. "I wouldn't exactly call them my friends." They both fell in silence again. "You said… you haven't learned a lot. What did you mean?" Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"I wasn't around other… people a lot," he said nervously. He couldn't let Sasuke know he was actually a fox.

"Why?" Sasuke asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Didn't have any parents, everybody hated me," the blonde muttered—which was partly true. He really didn't have any parents (at least not that he remembered) and everybody did hate him. That wasn't the reason why he wasn't around a lot of people though. "Do you have friends?" the blonde questioned then, deciding a change of subject would be in his best interest. The boy on top of him looked away, a sceptical and a slightly bitter look on his face.

"No."

"Neither do I," Naruto said. "…You wanna be friends?" Sasuke's head snapped back to focus his eyes on the blonde, trying to find a hint of a joke, or whatever. Had Naruto really said that? But they had just fought. This guy… he really was an idiot. Sasuke snorted and got off of him.

"No," he said, as he offered Naruto his hand. The blonde took it without hesitance and grinned at him.

"Friendly acquaintances?" Naruto opted, grinning at the black-haired boy. Sasuke was silent for a long time, before he turned around and walked over to the door.

"Maybe," Sasuke muttered softly, barely loud enough for Naruto to hear. The blonde's face broke out in a grin and he bounced off after Sasuke who had stuffed his hands in his pockets and was waiting for him at the door to follow him.

"Am I still gonna get executed?" he asked the Prince while walking back to the hall. Sasuke gave him an indecisive shrug, before smirking at him.

"Maybe," he said. Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"Can I call you Sasuke?"

"Maybe."

"Are you still going to tell all of your prissy not-friends that I'm stupid?"

"Maybe."

"Sasuke!"

"…"

"You think you're so funny, don't you!"

"Maybe."

"Ghaa!" Naruto pulled his own hair in frustration while Sasuke just kept on walking. To anyone who didn't know Sasuke thoroughly, they would think he was merely smirking in an arrogant way. However, as Kakashi rushed over to Sasuke to ask him if he was alright and if he was still going to keep Naruto or not, he recognised it to be a tiny smile. Not a smirk, not a grin.

Just a smile.

Kakashi then wondered whether he should prepare himself for the apocalypse or not.

--

--

(1) I know foxes don't live in packs and usually are alone instead so it wouldn't really matter if the other foxes hated him, but this is a fairytale-like story, so use your **_imagination_** for it n.n

(2) Foxes pounce on their prey. I want to make Naruto as fox-like as possible, even as a human X3. I'll probably throw in some pranks later on in the story as well –grins-. Poor Sasu-chan is gonna have a hard time XD.


	5. HisStory

**AN:** Thanks for all the wonderful reviews I've been getting! I'm glad you all like it n.n

Enjoy and review? x3

Oh, by the way, the title of the story I stole from a Michael Jackson album XD "History" and "His story", before people go telling me I spelled 'history' wrong XD

--

--

**The Prince And The Fox**

By SmexLemur

**Chapter 4: Hisstory **

"Oi, Kakashi!" the blonde boy hollered as he rushed down the stairs. The silver-haired man looked up briefly from his book. "D'you know where Sasuke is? I'm bored!" he declared, crossing his arms firmly. "I demand to be entertained by him." Kakashi chuckled lightly, before shrugging.

"He's out. Nobody knows where he goes," he said. Naruto blinked once, realising where Sasuke had to be.

"You do know where he is," he said, the words slipping from his mouth before he knew it. Kakashi looked up immediately, his blue eye locking with Naruto's. Said blonde immediately unleashed a string of stuttered sentences—he shouldn't have been able to know that Kakashi always came to pick Sasuke up from the dock. "I—I mean, you're his guard after all!" Naruto finally managed to exclaim, grinning and rubbing the back of his head. Kakashi still eyed him suspiciously. "I'll go look for him, bye!"

Before the silver-haired man could say anything further, Naruto had sprinted out of the castle and headed towards the forest. Kakashi blinked once before shaking his head. There was something weird about the kid, but he couldn't quite place it.

--

--

Naruto ran towards the dock where he and Sasuke had first met, figuring him to be sitting there as usual. It didn't really take a genius to figure that out. The blonde didn't know if Sasuke wanted him there, but he didn't really care—he was sent to help him after all. Naruto still didn't know what he needed to do _exactly_ but he figured he just needed to befriend him and to make him feel like there are other people there for him.

He saw Sasuke sitting on the dock as expected, watching his reflection while swinging his legs in the process. Naruto was happy, because now he could ask him why he came there everyday and what he was always thinking about—when he had been a fox, he couldn't do that.

"Sasuke?" he questioned. The prince was snapped out of his thoughts and looked up, surprise evident in his eyes. Naruto sat down next to him and grinned at him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked him rudely. Naruto shrugged.

"I was lookin' for you. What are you doing here?" Sasuke looked away from him, back to his reflection.

"Thinking." Naruto blinked.

"You can do that in the castle," he pointed out. Sasuke shook his head.

"People annoy me there." It was silent for a long while. Sasuke kept his eyes on the water, while Naruto was just randomly looking around, enjoying the soft noises of the forest—birds, the soft rustle of the leaves when the wind started to blow. He had missed it. "You know," Sasuke said suddenly, breaking the silence. "There usually sits a fox where you're sitting." Naruto blinked. Sasuke looked a little uncomfortable, but continued anyway—he wasn't used to talking, but there was something about Naruto… "I brought him food, but he hasn't showed up today." The blonde fox-turned-boy somehow felt a little guilty, though he couldn't help but feel warm at the statement.

"Maybe he's hunting," Naruto opted, grinning at him. Sasuke briefly looked up at him, gave him a very, very tiny smile and looked back at his reflection.

"Maybe," he agreed. "Or he's just afraid of your face." Naruto stuck out his tongue at him, before pouting.

"You're so mean Sasuke," he said. "Maybe that's why he's not here today!" _Well, technically he _is_ here, but I can't tell that to Sasuke,_ Naruto thought bitterly. Sasuke shrugged, smirking a little.

"Believe what you want to believe, dobe," he replied. Naruto fumed—Kakashi had explained to him what 'dobe' meant.

"Bastard," he muttered.

"Gaara told me he had never heard of you," the Uchiha said suddenly, ignoring the 'bastard' comment. Naruto gave him a questioning look. "And by the looks of it, you had never heard of him either. I didn't say anything about that at the banquet yesterday, but I'm certain you're not from Suna. Where are you from?"

"Why would you ask Gaara that?" Naruto said, his voice shaking. Great, what was he supposed to say now?

"Gaara is the Prince of Suna. He should know," Sasuke said firmly, looking at Naruto from the corner of his eyes. "Why did you lie to me? And where are you from?" Naruto sighed, running a hand through his blonde hair.

"I… can't tell you," he finally said, swallowing. It was the truth, for once—he really couldn't. It occurred to Naruto that he hadn't told Sasuke anything about himself and he did feel rather guilty for that, but it wasn't his fault! It was that stupid rule Kyuubi made up! Sasuke looked back at his reflection, narrowing his eyes.

"I see," he stood up, which made Naruto panic slightly. Was Sasuke mad at him? He wouldn't be surprised, he was even mad at himself! But he didn't want to leave Sasuke, so he had to lie, right? He quickly shrugged his head and stood up as well. Sasuke turned around, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he walked away. "You don't have to tell me where you're from, just as long as I don't find out you're a serial killer or anything like that," he said as he walked away. Naruto blinked.

"Wait, you're not mad at me?" he asked hopefully. Sasuke stopped walking for a moment.

"Why would I care where you're from? You only need to serve and obey me," he finally said.

Somehow, those couple of words were even worse than Sasuke being mad at him.

--

--

"He's so confusing!" Naruto exclaimed, pulling his hair frantically. Iruka chuckled lightly, pouring them both a cup of tea (Naruto didn't really like the warm substance, he preferred water, but Iruka had insisted). "I mean… when I try taking one step forward, he takes two steps back. I don't understand, was he always like this?" Naruto questioned. Iruka shifted his eyes.

"Don't tell anyone I told you this, Naruto," he said in a hushed voice. Thankfully, Kakashi had not yet returned from his duties (note: duties meaning he had not finished reading his perverted book), so he could talk freely about it. Sasuke didn't like people talking about his past—he'd rather have it if they would all keep their mouths shut and pretend it had never happened, but Iruka figured that, if Naruto really wanted to understand Sasuke, he also needed to know about his past.

"I promise, Iruka!" the blonde said. The brown-haired man smiled, taking a sip from his tea.

"Sasuke… he used to be a very cheerful young man, very timid too," Iruka said, figuring that was the best way to begin the story. "He was always looking up to his older brother Itachi, who was the pride and joy of King Fugaku. While Fugaku was always bragging about Itachi, he left Sasuke out of his stories, which made Sasuke try even harder with studying and fighting and whatnot. Itachi had always been very kind to him, he helped him whenever he had the time, which made it even harder for Sasuke to actually hate him for being so perfect.

"But," Iruka paused for a moment, finding this part of the story to be the most difficult one. He had always liked Fugaku—he was a very kind man. "When Sasuke was eight, Itachi began to change. He didn't spend time with Sasuke any more and he acted coldly towards everybody. He began to distance himself from everybody, including Sasuke and his parents.

"He became arrogant, he wanted the throne for himself. So he killed Sasuke's father and mother and uncles and aunts—just everybody who was his family," he paused again, taking a deep breath. Naruto was listening intently, with his mouth hanging open. "When he finally arrived at Sasuke's room, whom he had 'saved for last', as he had said, a maid had found one of the guards dead on the floor and had been screaming her lungs out. Guards flooded the castle and found Itachi hanging over Sasuke with a sword in his hands. Sasuke was crying and Itachi was laughing—some guards even said that his eyes had turned red, instead of black.

Anyway, he was about to kill Sasuke in front of everybody's eyes when Kakashi dashed forward and stopped him. Itachi was sentenced and executed, leaving Sasuke without a family," Iruka finally finished. They stayed silent, both of them, for a long while—Naruto thinking everything over and Iruka reliving the memories of that night. After a long time, Naruto was the one to break the silence.

"Thanks Iruka, for telling me that," he said truthfully. Iruka gave him a small smile.

"You're welcome. It's strange, but somehow you've made more progress with him in one day than Kakashi had in eight years. I figured you ought to know so you don't give up on him," Iruka chuckled softly at the offended look.

"Hey! My name is Naruto and I won't back down on my word(1)! I will help Sasuke!" And with that, Naruto dashed off, with new determination—what had happened to the prince was terrible, but he really needed to get over it. The blonde could understand something like that wasn't easy and he would never understand the pain Sasuke had to go through, but if Sasuke stayed like that… he would be living in darkness for the rest of his life.

And Naruto was not going to let that happen.

--

--

--

(1) Does that sound familiar? X3


	6. The Lord And The Fox

**AN: **I'm so falling in love with writing this fic XD I LOVE fairytales o.o

Anyway, thanks for all your reviews and please continue to do so! I love you all x3

**The Prince And The Fox**

By SmexLemur

**Chapter 5: The Lord And The Fox**

The next couple of days, Sasuke pointedly ignored Naruto as best as he could. He gave him assignments that would keep him away from Sasuke or he would order him to go help Iruka or any of the other servants out. He had made a lot of friends through this all, though he'd rather have Sasuke acknowledge him. Not that he wasn't thankful—he finally wasn't alone anymore, but the person he really had wanted to befriend, would always be the Prince.

His new friends were an odd couple of humans.

There was Shikamaru, a lazy guy though Naruto supposed he was really, really smart. He was always playing some sort of game they called Shougi with anybody who was willing to play. Shikamaru had tried to explain to Naruto what the purpose of it was, but the blonde really did think it was boring. The lazy servant was very nice, though and Naruto considered him a good friend, since he was always helping him out even though he called him 'troublesome'.

Then came Choji, a chubby boy and the best friend of Shikamaru. He helped his father, the cook, often in the kitchen (though Naruto didn't know if he really _helped_ him or if he was just there to taste the food). Naruto hadn't really talked a lot to him, but he seemed like a really nice guy, despite the fact he would get furious if someone would call him 'fatty'.

Kiba was the caretaker for all the animals in the castle, though he favoured the dogs. He was loud and obnoxious and slightly arrogant, much like Naruto, but he was also nice and loyal. Naruto had gotten into a fight with him the third day of his arrival at the castle (and had won), but they made peace in the end.

Well, those were the most important ones there anyway. He had also once seen a guy with HUGE eyebrows, who had stated that his name was Rock Lee. He seemed nice, in a creepy way.

"Servant," Sasuke called from his room. Not only did he usually ignore the blonde, but he had also refused to call him by his name. Naruto was getting slightly aggravated by this—Sasuke was acting like a spoiled little brat. "I need you to deliver this message to Hyuuga Neji." Sasuke handed him a scroll and a map, where Neji's mansion was highlighted and a route to it was drawn. "I think even a dobe like you can do this," Sasuke sneered, waiting for some kind of reaction.

He got none.

Naruto had decided after two days of this behaviour, that he would play along with it. Instead of yelling 'bastard!' or something similar to that at him, he nodded and bowed stiffly. Sasuke's eye twitched briefly, before sending Naruto away. He sighed and ran a hand through his black hair, settling himself in a chair near the window. After about ten minutes of looking at the courtyard, he saw a horse being led out to the front gate, followed by a boy with a mop of blonde hair. He mentally asked himself whether Naruto was ready to ride a horse by himself for two hours straight—after all, Naruto had only just been taught how to ride.

Then again, why was he worrying?

Ah, right, the horse could get away and that would mean he had one horse less. Yep, that was it.

It wasn't that he _didn't_ like the blonde, but it was more or less the fact that he _did_. It was complicated for him—he was scared of the blonde, because he made him _feel_. He hadn't had emotions, besides anger or annoyance, in such a long time. It was like he had thrown them away, much like a ship throws off all unnecessary items when it wants to sail faster—emotions were unnecessary and kept him from moving on. Naruto gave him feelings he couldn't even _identify_, things he hadn't even felt before That Night.

He sighed, shrugged and threw away the thoughts before standing up from his chair and heading over to the river. Maybe Kitsune would come to visit him today—he hadn't seen him for a couple of days.

--

--

"You going to be alright, Naruto?" Kiba asked, eyeing him a little worriedly. Naruto nodded, grinning at him. "Well, you've only taken two lessons…" the brown-haired boy trailed off, raising an eyebrow as Naruto climbed the horse effortlessly.

"You sound like a mother, Kiba," he said, grinning a little at his friend. Kiba just stuck his tongue out, before grabbing something from his pocket. "A letter?" Naruto asked, eyeing the object that was being shoved into his hands. Kiba nodded nervously.

"Y—yeah," he said, stuttering and his cheeks turning red. "I was wondering if you could give that to Hinata, you know, Neji's cousin?" Naruto blinked once, before his face broke out in a grin. "I would've given it to someone else, but you're the only one I can trust with this," he admitted, scratching his head. "I mean, I know I'm just a servant and she's like, royalty and stuff, so I don't think I even have a chance, but I gotta try, right?"

"Yeah! I'll definitely deliver this for ya, Kiba!" Naruto gave him a thumb's up. "Hinata seemed like a really nice person," he continued. Kiba nodded enthusiastically.

"Thanks dude," the dog-like boy said truthfully, shaking Naruto's hand.

"No problem," he replied and waved at Kakashi and Iruka, who waved back—Iruka slightly worried though enthusiastic and Kakashi bored and lazy. Naruto rode off with both the letters he needed to deliver safely in his pocket.

The blonde thought this all to be some grand adventure like those stories he had heard from other foxes and people whom he overheard. He had never been out of the forest before and looking at the map Sasuke had given him, he figured he would get to see a lot of new things.

All in all, it went rather smoothly. He stopped occasionally to eat or drink something and for his sore butt to recover slightly. The horse (Rasengan) was very calm and obedient, but Naruto figured that to be because it was an old horse. Kiba hadn't actually said that, but the horse's eyes seemed very old though.

When he was halfway there, dark clouds started to fill the sky. Naruto silently prayed that the rain wouldn't start until he was safely at the Hyuuga mansion, but his prayers weren't heard—when he was about fifteen minutes away from his destination, it started to pour. It wasn't small or short either.

After about a good ten minutes, the storm started to grow heavier and Rasengan became slightly uneasy because of the lightning flashes and the thunder. Naruto was more than relieved when the humongous mansion finally came into sight.

"Just a mile left, Rasengan," the blonde whispered at the horse, whi whinnied in response, still fearing the thunder. Naruto couldn't really blame him—thunder was a scary thing. He had never really liked it either, until about two months ago.

**_---OMG Flashback o.o (yeah, the line-thingie doesn't work T.T)---_**

_The Prince sat on the dock once more, Naruto noted. Even when it was raining, he would just come out there and stare—Naruto found that humans were odd. Or maybe it was just the Prince? He didn't know. _

_The loud noise of thunder could be heard again and Naruto jumped up. He was hiding in a bush, because he didn't trust the open right now—who knew what those scary lightning flashes could do? Or the rumbling that came after it? He was surprised when he noticed that the Prince hadn't even moved after the loud sound. _

_Naruto watched him for another five minutes, until he took a daring step towards him. He made a startled squeak-like noise when a flash appeared in the sky, but continued to walk towards the Prince nonetheless. He somehow just felt safer with him. He quickly sat next to him, as close as possible, seeking shelter from the rain. The Prince looked at him briefly, feeling the small, shivering body against him and a look of pity crossed his eyes. _

_He sensed the fox, his Kitsune, was scared and so did something he had never done before (at least not with Naruto)—he wrapped his arms around him and pulled him on his lap. Naruto immediately buried his face into Sasuke's chest, trying to shut the sound of thunder out. _

"_Don't worry, it can't hurt you," The Prince muttered, petting him. The blonde barely heard it though, since he was focusing on that wonderful hand that was caressing his ears, head and back. It was like heaven to him. _

_Naruto wondered vaguely if it was because the Prince's hands were so good, or if it was because he was being held by the Prince._

_**---Omg End-flashback o.o---**_

A smile crossed Naruto's face as he relived the memory.

"Don't worry Rasengan," he said softly, bowing forward so his lips were near Rasengan's ear. "It can't hurt you."

--

--

"Ah, Naruto," a soft and deep voice said as he entered the mansion. Naruto blinked, recognising it instantly. He bowed.

"Lord Neji," he acknowledged. Neji let out a deep chuckle, motioning the boy to come closer to him. The blonde obeyed and followed Neji to what seemed to be the living room of the mansion, or something like that anyway.

"It seems Prince Sasuke has finally taught you some manners," he said, chuckling lightly at the offended expression on the other's face. The blonde pouted.

"You're so mean, just like Sasuke," he replied. Neji stiffened a little, before he let out a small cough.

"Well, anyway," he said. "You can't go back in this storm," he continued. gesturing to the window. Naruto nodded dumbly. "I insist you stay with me for the night."

"O—oh, thanks," Naruto muttered. "But everybody is expecting me back, won't they be worried?" he pointed out. Neji shook his head.

"I'm sure they'll understand when you explain it to them tomorrow," he said. "If you follow TenTen over there," he gestured to a female servant with brown hair who was standing in the corner of the room, waiting for any order Neji would give her. "She'll take you to your room and give you some dry clothes." He eyed Naruto for a moment, who began to grin like an idiot.

"Thanks Neji!" he exclaimed, completely forgetting to put 'Lord' in front of it. "You're so nice, much nicer than Sasuke! He just scowls and glares all the time at me." Naruto gave Neji one of those cute pouts again, which made said boy's pale cheeks blush slightly.

"TenTen, please escort Naruto to his room," he turned to the girl. She nodded, smiling at Naruto who stood up from his chair.

"Please follow me," she said.

"Oh! I almost forgot," the blonde fished out a slightly crumpled letter from his pocket (making sure it wasn't the letter from Kiba at the same time) and gave it to Neji, grinning. The black-haired man gave him a thankful nod in response. "Right! Lead the way TenTen," he said enthusiastically, bouncing after the girl who let out a small giggle at his enthusiasm.

Neji grinned lightly to himself—this boy was very interesting. And from what he could tell, Sasuke wasn't really treating him well.

Naruto was too good for him anyway.


	7. Those Three Little Words

**AN**: This chapter came out amazingly easy. I wrote this in perhaps 30 minutes, without deleting anything and I hadn't even though about it until I started writing it XD Well, I had a general idea of course, but I threw a lot of random things in for the heck of it.

This chapter came out FAST(er) O.O I was so surprised, I just felt like continuing this, since I'm so in love with this x3. I love writing fantasy/fairytales/anything that makes you able to do whatever you want without needing to research a lot of stuff to still make it believable XD. I love making up my own little things x3. I guess that's why I love AU-fics XDD.

Also, someone asked if I could throw in some NejiGaara o.o… I personally don't really like this pairing, I'm sorry XD I'm a big fan of LeeGaara –shifty eyes- Why are you looking at me like that? XD

LeeGaara is just cute x3

Anyway, let's see who I can pair Neji up with… 'cause a sexy guy like him should have his own bishie, right? o.o Well, if there are requests for Neji, I might listen to them x3. Except when it's Gaara… 'cause Gaara belongs to Lee. Right Lee? –huggles Lee plushie-

And on a final note (All of you: YES! FINALLY), I laughed my ass of from 'Tralala's' comment regarding chapter 4 XD I would've replied to that personally… but I couldn't T.T -smacks her- (I'll assume that you're a girl o.o). AND I'D LIKE TO THANK ALL OF MY OTHER REVIEWERS WHO ARE JUST AS AWESOME AS SHE IS! XD (and maybe awesomer x3)

Anyway, hope you don't find this one boring –sweat drops- there's not a lot of action going on here. Well, maybe the last part –grins-.

Enjoy and review! –puppy eyes-

**The Prince And The Fox**

By SmexLemur

**Chapter 6: Those Three Little Words**

"Where _is _he?" Sasuke asked Kakashi for the tenth time that evening. "He was supposed to be here three hours ago! How difficult is it to deliver a _letter_?" Kakashi had to hide a chuckle—the Prince had been worked up about Naruto's well-being (even though he would never admit that, of course) for the past couple of hours.

"Your Highness, I think Naruto is just staying at Neji for the night, after all, the storm is rather heavy," Kakashi pointed out. "We should just wait until tomorrow, unless you want to go search for him that is…" the silver-haired man resisted the urge to wiggle his eyebrows and instead opted to just smile cheerfully at him (though Sasuke wouldn't be able to see that, considering the mask he was wearing). The Uchiha sighed in frustration as he paced around frantically.

Perhaps he was just overreacting, perhaps Naruto really was staying with Neji for the night, but that wouldn't seem like Neji at all. The Lord usually was cold towards servants and would put them on the street even when the heaviest typhoon was raging. Sasuke shook his head and thought of the other option: Naruto could've found shelter in the village nearby, right? He could've just as easily stayed with a kind farmer.

But then… there was the other one. He saw it in his mind—a blonde boy lying in the mud, his body motionless and his head dripping with blood from the fall. The horse was nowhere to be seen and Naruto had obviously broken his neck while falling or had frozen to death or—

He shook his head again. Why was he panicking so much? He had only known the obnoxious servant for five days, damn it! Hardly enough to even care for someone, right? Besides, he didn't care for _anyone_ at all, no matter how long he had known them. Well, perhaps he cared a little for Kakashi…

"We search for him first thing in the morning," was the determined reply from Sasuke. "Notify Kiba and tell him to have our horses ready at sunrise." Kakashi blinked for a second, unable to believe his ears. Sasuke was actually willing to look for a servant? He shook his head and suppressed a chuckle.

It seemed as if miracles still existed.

--

--

"_WHAT IS THIS!"_ Naruto hollered the next morning as he stood in front of the mirror, staring at it.

His reflection was staring right back at him, but something was different on his human body. And that something was a huge difference, because that something would raise a lot of questions when people would see him. Right on top of his head, two tips of ears peeked out from his mop of blonde hair. This would've been fine—had he been a fox, of course. But fox ears did NOT belong on top of a human's head!

"How—what!—How could this happen?" he stammered over and over again as he tried to search for answers by replaying the conversation he had with Kyuubi. He couldn't remember anything about turning back to a fox, unless he had told Sasuke his true feelings (whatever that meant), if he had told Sasuke he was a fox or if his time was up. Well, neither of those seemed to be it, so then what?

"Kyuubi!" Naruto hollered, completely forgetting that there were other people in the mansion and that he could easily wake them up.

There was no answer, nor did he expect any.

"Kyuubiiiiiiii," the blonde continued to whine as he pulled on his fox ears. Perhaps if he would wear a hat, nobody would notice?

"What _is it, kit?" _a deep voice sounded through the room, before a boy with long, wild and dark red hair appeared. He had the same whisker marks on his cheeks as Naruto had and a mischievous look in his red eyes—when he grinned, Naruto could see the fangs. "What did you want now? Not satisfied?" Naruto blinked once.

"Y—you're Kyuubi? What happened to the scary 'hey, look at me! I'm a big giant fox with nine tails and I'm gonna eat you'- look?" The boy gave him a grin, chuckling lightly. The kit certainly was amusing.

"I can hardly appear in this tiny room in that form. I would break down the house and I don't really want to get any attention from these damn Hyuuga's. People are hunting me enough as it is," he explained, shrugging a bit as he flopped on the bed. "Anyway, what do you want? I swear that whiny voice got on my nerves, otherwise I wouldn't have even bothered." Naruto's eye twitched.

"I didn't exactly expect you to appear," he admitted. Kyuubi shrugged.

"I hafta keep an eye on you. If you, you know, break the rules I set and stuff. Plus it's rather entertaining to watch you and the Prince fight constantly. I haven't had this much fun in a couple of hundred years," he replied, giving Naruto a devilish grin. "So, what is it? I haven't got all day."

"It's _this_," the blonde said, pointing at the fox ears. Kyuubi gave him a confused blink, before he mouthed an 'oh'. "Well, what's the meaning of this? Am I turning back in a fox? And why the hell didn't I know! What, you think Neji's gonna let me go when I have fox ears sprouting out of my head?" Naruto said, flailing his arms. The red-haired demon gave him another shrug.

"Guess I forgot to mention that," he said. "When you're too long and too far away from the Uchiha, you slowly turn back to your own form, because I can't have you running away from your duties," he said, giving him a grin. "I somehow had to ensure you would at least stay with the Prince, so I managed to come up with this!" Naruto pouted.

"Yeah, well, I only am here to deliver a message for Neji. I wasn't planning on running or anything," he declared. Kyuubi waved an arm around.

"Yeah, yeah," he scrunched his nose a bit, before mimicking Naruto's voice, " 'I'm Naruto and I won't go back on my word!', right?" The blonde blinked for a moment.

"…I really sound like that?" Kyuubi barked a laugh.

"Yeah, you now understand what I had to endure for the past five minutes?" Naruto gave him another pout, before jumping on the bed as well, landing on his knees.

"So what do I have to do about the ears? Are they staying or not?"

"Nah, you just have to go back to the Prince, or the Prince has to come here. They'll disappear right away," he added. Naruto gave him a scowl.

"Anything else you forgot to mention to me about this whole thing?" he asked him, just to be safe.

"Hm, I don't think so," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, guess I'll be off then. I got humans to eat(1), tails to groom, stuff like that," he trailed off, blinking when Naruto suddenly pounced on him.

"Hey, hey! Why do you wanna help Sasuke anyway? What's in it for you?" Naruto narrowed his eyes. "And don't give me that 'I still owed the Uchiha's'-crap, 'cause if you do that, you need to tell me why you owe them and why you didn't help them out eight years ago when they all got murdered! If you had done that then, the Prince wouldn't have been this unhappy in the first place," Naruto added as an afterthought. Kyuubi pried the boy off of him, ruffling his hair in the process.

"I didn't owe them anything back then," he explained finally. "Two years ago, there were a bunch of demon-hunters and they were trying to get me. Your little Prince helped me then, saying that if he ever needed a favour, I needed to give him whatever he wanted. Well," the fox-demon let out a low chuckle. "I don't like being ordered around. I could've taken down those demon-hunters myself, had he not interfered. Anyway, he still saved me, I suppose, but I didn't _ask_ for it." Naruto blinked, before his face broke out in a grin.

"I see, so you're helping him out now, without him asking you? So you're basically giving him unwanted help? He's not gonna like that," Naruto said, smirking a bit. Kyuubi nodded, grinning at the expression on Naruto's face. Ah, how he liked messing with arrogant humans like Sasuke… it was so much fun to see them get angry when they didn't get what they wanted.

"That, and it's funny to watch the whole drama. We demons need some form of entertainment and eating humans does get boring after a while, especially if you're already a thousand years old. Besides, if I did grant him a favour, he'd probably just use it for something stupid."

"Naruto!" a voice called out from behind the door to his bedroom. Naruto recognised it to be the voice of the servant he had met the day before, TenTen. "Are you alright? I heard someone screaming," she continued. Naruto looked at Kyuubi nervously.

"Well, I'll see ya later, kit," the fox-demon said, ruffling Naruto's hair once again, before disappearing. The blonde blinked once, before he heard another pound on his door.

"I'm alright," he called out quickly, straightening his hair a bit and putting on his black nightcap. It had been a gift from Iruka the first night he came to the castle and he always took it with him—it had been, after all, the first gift he had ever gotten in his life, so it was a precious thing for him. He opened the door, revealing TenTen.

"Prince Sasuke has arrived only minutes ago, apparently he was worried for your well-being," she stated, smiling a little. Naruto blinked once, before his eyes widened.

"W—what, really? Why!" TenTen shook her head with an amused look.

"No idea, but he seemed to be mad about something," she said.

"Was it about me?" Naruto asked immediately, again a shake of her head.

"Well, you had something to do with it," she bit her lip. "But Lord Neji was the one he was mad at. I don't know why, but His Highness always blames others—" she immediately slapped her hand against her mouth, her eyes widened. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said that!"

"Don't worry about it, Ten," he said, grinning. "I knew that too, I guess that's one of his many flaws, huh? You shouldn't be afraid to speak your mind, y'know," he stated, blinking a little when she visibly relaxed at the friendly tone in his voice. She had been rather afraid he would get mad and would tell the Prince what she had said—that would definitely earn her a beating or perhaps she would even be locked up.

"Anyway, they both request your presence," she told him, before giggling softly. "And you might want to take that off." She pointed at his nightcap, which was resting perfectly on top of his head. He gave her another grin.

"Nah, I love this hat!" It was partly true of course—he didn't know if his ears had disappeared yet, so he didn't want to risk it. Especially not with Sasuke around. He ran down the stairs as the bundle of energy that he was and entered the same room he had been in with Neji the last evening. Both men turned when they heard him enter—Neji with a very wide smirk on his face and Sasuke with a scowl.

"Why didn't you come back to the castle yesterday?" he demanded, walking over to him and grabbing his upper arm. Naruto winced at the harsh touch and the harsh tone. "Did Neji do something to you? Are you hurt?" he asked, glaring over at Neji, whose face hadn't changed ever since Naruto had entered the room.

"N—no!" Naruto said, yanking his arm away. "But you're hurting me now!" he said angrily. "And why do you even care? You've ignored me for the last couple of days and now you're acting all worried! What are you, bipolar or something?"

"Is he always like this towards you, Naruto?" Neji asked in that usual soft and deep voice. Naruto blinked once, focusing his eyes on the other boy. "If you want, you could always stay here with me. You will be treated much better, I can assure you that," he continued, giving Sasuke a small smirk, who was fuming.

"Know your place, Lord Neji," he said through clenched teeth, before taking Naruto roughly by the arm and leading him outside into the hallway. "Grab your things, we're leaving. I assume your horse is in the stables?" Naruto nodded, his eyes refusing to even look at the Prince right now. What the hell was going on with him? Naruto really was at a loss and the urge to take Neji up on that offer was growing as the seconds ticked away.

He walked stiffly up the stairs to grab his clothes, which had been drying all throughout the night. He then suddenly remembered the letter he was supposed to bring Hinata and hurriedly walked into his room to fish out the letter. He looked at a startled TenTen, who had already begun cleaning up his room and quickly asked her where Hinata was staying.

"Thanks and bye!" he called out as he quickly dashed out, heading towards the bedroom TenTen had given him directions to. When he arrived at the door, he politely knocked on it, gave a startled Hinata the letter and hurried off again, leaving the Hyuuga heiress in a confused manner. Naruto figured she could just send a messenger if she wanted to reply to Kiba's obvious declaration of love—she probably had enough trustworthy messengers herself anyway. Kiba had just been an exception, since he was merely a servant.

He quickly said goodbye to Neji (who didn't seem happy about the fact that Naruto was leaving), before hurrying off, completely forgetting that he was still wearing the abominable nightcap.

--

--

When they arrived back at the castle, it was utter chaos. Kiba was running around in circles, chasing a dog who apparently didn't want to get a bath, Shikamaru was sitting lazily underneath a tree while watching the clouds, Iruka was being molested by a guard named Genma (Kakashi promptly jumped off his horse to chase him away from his boyfriend) and anything else that might go wrong, was going wrong right there.

However, one glare from Prince Sasuke fixed it all. Everybody immediately went back to their jobs.

"Your Highness," a male servant came up to him, panting slightly. "Lady Sakura(2) has arrived this morning. It seems she wanted to surprise you, but since you weren't here… well, she's in a bit of a foul mood." Sasuke visibly paled when the man mentioned her name, but nodded. "Good luck, sir," the servant said, giving him a small nod, before hurrying off again.

"Who's Sakura?" Naruto asked curiously, as they walked towards the castle. Sasuke briefly stopped walking.

"She's my fiancé," he said and with a few swift strides, he entered the palace doors.

Naruto's heart shattered in pieces when he heard those three little words.

--

--

(1) So, I don't know if that's actually true XD I don't think so at least x.x But I think I made Kyuubi joke about that. Yes, a little scary, but it was a joke nonetheless o.o… Poor Kyu-chan has a bad sense of humour, but that's why I love him x3 –huggles-

(2) Let the Sakura-bashing begin! I mean, I do like her in the manga XD but… I needed another evil person and I could only think of her, really o.o… x.x ah well XD


	8. Your True Feelings

**AN: **Sorry this took so long folks! –throws herself at Tralala's feet- I'm so sorry, I know I'm not worthy of your reviews! –sobs uncontrollably-

…Anyway n.n

Hope you enjoy this chapter and, to make it up to you, I threw in a small lemonish scene n.n

Enjoy!

**The Prince And The Fox**

By SmexLemur

**Chapter 7: Your True Feelings**

Naruto ran.

He ran and ran and ran, until he was at the dock where he and Sasuke had first met. He didn't know why he was so upset about Sasuke having a fiancé—he should be happy in fact! The Prince would have a wife, someone who would keep him from loneliness and someone who would cheer him up. He could have children and be happy.

"But then why am I so sad?" Naruto wondered out loud, settling himself on the edge of the wooden dock. He looked at the ripples in the water as he dipped his foot in, his reflection in the water instantly vanishing. He sighed and wiped some tears off of his face—how could he be sad about something like that? Sasuke was going to be happy! That was what he had wanted, right? Right? "No," the blonde whispered softly. He did want Sasuke to be happy, but…

He paused his thinking.

"But I want him to be happy with me," he finally finished his thought, eyes widening as he realised what he had said, but suddenly it all fell into place for him. He was in love with him. That's why he had been willing to give up his comfortable life as a fox, that's why he knew he would give his life for Sasuke, that's why he stayed with him no matter how much Sasuke tried to push him away and that's why he wanted to make him happy.

_Because I'm in love. _

Was that what Kyuubi meant with his _true_ feelings? That he couldn't voice them? And what did it matter anyway? Naruto would have to return to his own form someday—at the end of Spring anyway, so why bother telling him? And it's not like Sasuke would feel the same way about a _fox_. He was a Prince and even _if_ Naruto would stay as a human, he was still considered to be inferior to Sasuke. Heck, this Sakura-person was probably royalty too.

And even if he was royalty… would Sasuke ever feel the same way about him?

"Are you gonna stay here and pity yourself?" Naruto blinked, tears rolling over his cheeks as he did so and turned around. He saw Kyuubi standing in his human form right next to him, a serious look on his face. Naruto scowled at him and turned his head to look at his reflection. "Well, are you?" Kyuubi sat down next to him, an irritated look on his face. Naruto stayed silent for a long time

"Why did you change me? Sasuke has this Sakura girl, so why did you?" he finally demanded.

"You think he's going to be happy with Sakura?" the demon retorted in return, barking a laugh. "You really are stupid kit, the guy _hates_ her."

"But then why is he marrying her?" Kyuubi shrugged.

"It's an arranged marriage, it was decided when he was born," he replied. Naruto blinked, relief filling his heart. "Now, are you going to wallow in self-pity and let me turn you back into a fox, or are you going back?" Kyuubi asked, raising both of his eyebrows questioningly.

"I'm going back," the blonde replied firmly. Kyuubi grinned.

"Good," he stood up and brushed off his clothes. "Oh, before I forget: Sakura is scared to death of frogs," he wiggled his eyebrows, grinning. With a small 'poof', Kyuubi disappeared, leaving Naruto alone to form a nice little plan of getting Sakura out of the picture. He wasn't a cruel person, but if Sasuke didn't like her, then he would get rid of her.

No matter how many pranks he needed to use on her.

--

--

"Where were you Naruto?" Sasuke demanded as Naruto entered the palace. The blonde blinked, before his face broke out in a grin.

"Ah, sorry Sasuke, but I was—ah, helping Kiba walk the dogs!" he lied. Sasuke didn't seem too convinced—the blonde boy had never really been a star in lying.

"Hn," he replied, crossing his arms. Naruto let out a sigh of relief as he walked over to Sasuke.

"Why? Did you miss me?" he asked, a feeling of triumph overwhelming him when the Prince blushed furiously. Sasuke hurriedly turned around and coughed—he was desperately trying to maintain his composure. Why was he getting so flustered about it anyway?

"In your dreams, dobe," he replied, trying to sound as smug as possible. Naruto blinked when something pink latched itself onto Sasuke's arms, who in turn scowled at the monstrosity currently drooling over him.

"Sasuke! You let a servant talk to you in such a manner?" the thing asked in horror. "Honestly! Why haven't you gotten rid of _it_ yet?" she continued. Sasuke grumbled, peeling the pink thing off of him.

"Naruto, this is Lady Sakura. Sakura, this is my personal servant, Naruto," he introduced them. The blonde boy blinked once, before sticking out his hand, grinning lightly. He didn't see the arrogant look she was giving him, nor did he hear the soft snort she let out at the mere _idea_ of touching someone who _served_ her future husband. Sasuke, however, did notice. "Shake his hand, Sakura," he ordered briskly. The pink-haired girl blinked for a moment, giving him a 'what-the-fuck'-look, before indeed shaking the blonde boy's hand.

"Eeeeh, Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed. "She's way more nicer than you! See, she's shaking my hand while you didn't!" Sakura blinked.

And squealed.

"Cute!" she cooed, before launching herself at the blonde and startled boy, who in turn wrapped his arms around her waist automatically. "Wherever did you find him, Sasuke? I want him! He might still be a bit insolent, but we can help him overcome that! I'm sure he'll be the_ perfect _flower-boy for our wedding! Can you imagine him in a cute white dress, throwing flowers down the aisle? He'll be just like a girl!"

"Who are you calling a girl?" Naruto demanded, huffing. "There's no way I'm doing _that_!" Sasuke smirked, for once agreeing with his fiancé.

"Actually Naruto," he said, his smirk widening at the death glare it earned him. "I think it's a good idea." Sakura squealed, hugging the blonde tighter, who in turn begged for oxygen.

"Ah, Sasuke, I've got the perfect date for our wedding by the way!" she said excitedly, bouncing over to the black-haired Prince who paled. "The last day of Spring is _perfect_ for it, the flowers and trees will be beautiful then and, just like it's the start of a new season, it's the start of a new life for the both of us!" Sasuke swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Isn't that a bit… soon?" he asked her. "Preparations need to be made and I'm certain you'd like a big wedding, right?"

"Oh, I'm sure I'll manage to get everything arranged!"

"But—" he was interrupted by Sakura who squealed.

"Oh, Sasuke, you're so cute when you're shy! I know, you're nervous to marry me, right? Don't worry, you don't have anything to be nervous about."

Naruto sweatdropped as he saw the lost look in Sasuke's eyes as Sakura was ranting on and on about their upcoming wedding.

"Ah, eh, Lady Sakura?" Naruto asked tentatively, taking her attention from Sasuke briefly. "Perhaps you would like to see our aviary? I mean, they have a lot of white doves in there, maybe you could use them for the wedding? Why don't you check them out?" he gave her a grin and she smiled back gratefully.

"That's a perfect idea, Naru-chan!" she squealed happily. "Well, Sasuke, I'll see you at dinner tonight, right? Since I have to go home tomorrow, I need to see you as much as I can!"

"Hn," the Prince grumbled.

"Great!" Sakura obviously mistook his grumble of annoyance for a 'yes-hn'. She hurried off outside, all the while guided by the lazy Shikamaru, who muttered something about 'troublesome girls'. Naruto gave Sasuke a grin, who in turn gave him a smirk.

"Seems like you have some brains in that thick head of yours after all," he said. "Congratulations." With that, Sasuke turned on his heel and walked off, followed by a huffing Naruto.

"Bastard! The least you can do is thank me for helping you!" he exclaimed.

--

--

_Tanned body underneath a pale one, writhing and sweating, panting, clawing and begging. Blonde hair tousled, azure eyes half-lidded and glazed and pink lips swollen, letting out short breaths. _

"_Ah, Lord Sasuke," those pink lips beg. "P—please, stop teasing, Lord Sasuke," they continue to beg as Sasuke's tongue slides all the way from his neck to his abdomen, slowly licking his navel, before descending down even further. "A—ah," he breaths out as Sasuke gave him a short lick on his tip, the taste of pre-cum overwhelming him. _

"_I'm sorry, my little Kitsune," the Prince smirked, his self-control resolving as he took in the sight of his lover. "But I just love to tease you…" he drawled out in a husky voice. The boy beneath him gave him a small smile, looking even cuter than he did normally, before gently pushing Sasuke off of him. _

"_Lord Sasuke, allow me to pleasure you," he said, his eyes never leaving Sasuke's as he climbed on top of him, sucking and biting him gently wherever he could, while making his way downwards. The Prince looked at him with anticipation as the boy took him in fully, his erection enveloped in a warmth and wetness Sasuke wanted to feel forever. _

"_Nn," he managed to get out as a daft tongue ran along his shaft teasingly, a tingling feeling running through him. He shivered involuntarily when his blonde softly hummed in the back of his throat, the vibrations making him buck his hips, wanting to feel more. The boy placed his hands on either of his legs to keep him down and continued to suck, lick and gently running his hands over his hips and inner-thighs, giving Sasuke goosebumps. "N—Naruto… Oh Go—hnn," he breathed out as the blonde's teeth grazed his flesh gently. He writhed when he felt the familiar feeling coming over him—as if something was building up inside of him and could explode any second now. "Ha, Naruot, I—I'm," the rest of the words died out as he moaned loudly when the blonde gave his tip a lick, locking his blue eyes with the other's black ones. _

_Sasuke tried his best to hold it in—he wanted to feel those lips, that warmth longer, but when Naruto took him in his mouth fully once more, he couldn't control it anymore._

"_Naruto!"_

_--_

_--_

"Naruto!" he woke up, panting heavily as he shot up straight in his bed. He was sweaty all over, his black spikes sticking to his forehead and his clothes sticking to his body. Sasuke didn't know where he was for a moment, before he remembered he had decided to take a nap since he was feeling rather tired. "Oh… God," he muttered, rubbing his forehead as he looked at the sticky mess in his pants.

He couldn't believe he had just dreamt that.

"Prince Sasuke, is everything alright?" Kakashi entered his bedroom without having the decency to knock—he had a worried look in his eyes (Sasuke could see it, even with the mask on) and he made his way to the Prince's bed. Sasuke immediately covered himself with his blue sheets. "Did you have a nightmare?"

"No," the Prince grunted, before he started to cough heavily and fell back on the bed, all the while continuing to cough. Kakashi was immediately by his side, supporting the young Prince and patting him on the back gently. He raised a hand and placed it on his forehead, noting that he had a small fever.

"Perhaps you're coming down with something," he said. "You should stay in bed today, Your Highness. I'm sure Naruto wouldn't mind staying with you," he added suggestively and became highly amused when he saw the small flush on Sasuke's cheeks.

"No, I'm having dinner with Lady Sakura," Sasuke replied between coughs and sat up straight. "I'll be fine," he insisted when he saw the look of hesitance on his guardian's face.

"Sasuke…" he muttered. "If you're sick, you'll only make it worse by going. Please reconsider." The Prince stubbornly shook his head.

"I'll have dinner. I'll be fine," he said once more, trying to convince himself.

It wasn't working.

--

--

**AN:** Dun Dun Dun DUUUUUUUUUN! –shifty eyes- I think I'm gonna make a small 'drama' out of this x3. I feel like some drama. Don't you? Aaah, poor Sasuke, I wonder what's wrong with him… Well, I know of course. I got the whole ending planned out already! But damn, it'll take a while, of course x3. And did you like the very small lemon? o.o I hope I did an okay job with it, I'm so bad at it xD.


	9. The Old Hag and the Fox

**AN: **Wow, it's been a while, huh? o.o Damn, I'm so sorry about that T.T I just was… doing God knows what XD. Busy with work, I guess and I was just reading a lot of Yu-Gi-Oh fanfics. Yes, you read that right. Yu-Gi-Oh. I know, I know, don't kill me T.T I just LOVE the Seto/Katsuya pairing, even though I'm not THAT familiar with the show. Hell, I've never even seen the ending… I think I've only seen the first episodes, like… maybe until episode fifty or something? And not even all of THOSE, but I just think they're so cute! Same goes for Yami Yuugi and Yuugi—just adorable x3!

Anyway, also working on a small ItaNaru drabble and 'Ninja for Hire' will probably get updated tomorrow If I have the time… I probably have it x3! So you can expect an update.

I'm also thinking about writing a Seto/Katsuya fic… Gha, not sure though. But not until I finish one of my other fics, of course. I've got a small plot-thingie in my head so nyah o.o…

Ah, and Tralala (it was you right? Can't remember o.o If I'm mistaken, my apologies xD) asked me whether or not I had another plot… yeah, it'll be answered in this chapter n.n And I really should get this fic going, unless I want this one to turn a fifty-chapter fic… which I do NOT want. I don't have the patience for that XD. But I don't wanna rush it either –sigh-. Anyway, from here on time will pass a little faster n.n.

Okay, I think that was all? Enjoy!

--

--

**The Prince And The Fox**

By SmexLemur

**Chapter 8: The Old Hag and the Fox**

--

--

"Sasuke, are you feeling alright?" Sakura asked, concern evident in her voice. Sasuke shot her a glare, before he continued to cough heavily. Perhaps he should've listened to Kakashi, but it _was_ the only time he would be able to have dinner with her… not that he really cared about Sakura _that_ way, but his parents would've liked to see him getting married to her. She wasn't terrible, per se, since he could've gotten a lot worse, but he just didn't _feel_ anything for her.

"I'm fine, Sakura," he said, when his coughing fit finally ended. Naruto, who was standing behind his chair, patted his back gently and awkwardly. He abruptly stopped when Sasuke smacked his hand away, frowning. Sasuke flushed—it wasn't that he didn't appreciate the gesture but… memories of the perverted dream he had been having earlier that day flooded his mind and he was unable to even _look_ at his blonde servant without feeling embarrassed. Even though he had no idea _why_.

Dreams didn't mean anything, right?

Right.

Dinner went on with Sakura chattering endlessly about one thing or another—dinner parties, dresses, the wedding, were some of her favourite subjects—while Sasuke half listened and half eyed his food, thinking about more important matters.

Well, he _tried_.

All he could think of was that damn blonde boy standing behind him.

Speaking of the blonde… Sasuke had a bad feeling about him. Naruto had been grinning ever since dinner had started and he hadn't stopped ever since—it was slightly unnerving and annoying. Just what was he up to? The Prince sighed and shrugged—he'd figure it out eventually, probably. As long as it wasn't anything bad…

"Eek!" a high-pitched shriek emitted from Sakura when something slimy and squishy was sitting against her leg. Naruto's grin visibly widened when Sakura jumped up from her chair and ran to the other side of the dining room, leaving a confused Sasuke. He became even more confused, when her eyes widened and she screamed some more while running _around_ the room now. "Monster!" she shrieked as she ran to Sasuke for comfort.

"What did you do?" he hissed to Naruto, who gave him a small grin and pointed at something green on Sakura's pink dress. The Prince quirked an eyebrow. "A frog?" Before he could hear (or see) Naruto's reply, Sakura launched herself at him and firmly sat herself on his lap.

"Save me!" she pleaded dramatically. Sasuke couldn't help but feel amused at the girl's screams and curses and any other unlady-like thing she was doing that very moment and threw Naruto a grin, who eagerly returned it. The blonde decided the fun was over and walked over to them, prying the frog off Sakura's dress and actually putting it on top of his head. The frog croaked happily and stayed where he was: a comfortable blonde mop of hair.

Sasuke blinked once and shoved Sakura off his lap, the grinning gone and it instead made way for another coughing fit.

"Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed, taking a couple of quick steps so he was by the Prince's side—Sakura worriedly shot her fiancé a glance, before she called out for Kakashi when she saw Sasuke coughing up blood. "Sasuke, are you alright? Wh—what?" Naruto's eyes widened when the Prince lost consciousness in his arms, his right hand, which he had been using to cover his mouth, covered in blood. Kakashi was there not two seconds later and took Sasuke in his arms.

"Naruto, let's take him to his room. Lady Sakura, why don't you go to your room to get some rest?" The two younger ones both nodded and complied—Sakura went to her room and Naruto followed Kakashi.

He felt guilt. Guilt. Guilt. **_Guilt. _**It was his fault that Sasuke was feeling bad, because he had been the cause of all that commotion… he smacked himself over the head for it as he entered Sasuke's bedroom. While Kakashi placed the Prince on his bed, Naruto hurried to the bathroom, grabbed a towel and soaked it in cold water for the Prince also had a fever. He scurried back over to Sasuke's bed and gently wiped the small beads of sweat away, before placing it on his forehead.

"Kakashi-san, the doctor has arrived," a servant called from the other side of the door.

"Good, send her in!" Kakashi replied hurriedly. Not a second later, the door slammed open. Naruto blinked and his eyes rested on a pretty blonde-haired woman—she seemed to be in her twenties and her hair was tied in two pony-tails. She looked rather irritated.

"Alright, where's the brat?" she barked angrily. "I swear, an old woman can't even get her beauty sleep around here anymore." Kakashi chuckled lightly.

"Tsunade-sama," he gave a small bow. The woman—Tsunade—nodded and walked over to the bed, her eyes briefly focusing on the blonde boy sitting besides him. A hint of recognition flashed through her eyes, not going unnoticed by Kakashi, before she sat down next to the bed and checking up on Sasuke. Naruto stayed quiet all through the examination and frowned on a couple of occasions—he had never really seen a doctor or anything, so when Tsunade took out a weird thingie and placed it where Sasuke's heart was, he really had no idea what she was doing.

Finally, after perhaps thirty long minutes of watching coughing and sweating Sasuke, Tsunade sighed and stood up, motioning Kakashi to follow him. Naruto wanted to hear it too and walked right behind them, only to be shoved back by Kakashi.

"No, no, you go and stay with Sasuke. Watch over him for me, okay?" The blonde blinked once at him and slowly nodded. _Tche, not as if I'm not going to find out anyway_, he though, narrowing his eyes at them.

--

--

Ten minutes later, Kakashi stepped back in the room. Naruto immediately perked up a bit.

"So? What the old hag say? Huh? Is something wrong with Sasuke?" he asked eagerly, running towards Kakashi and tugging at his shirt. The older man merely patted his head, before heading over to the Prince.

"Don't worry about it, Naru-chan," he replied cheerfully. "The nice Doctor gave him some good medicine and he'll be fine! He's going to have to stay in bed for a long time though, but I'm sure you'll… _entertain _him." Kakashi wiggled his eyebrows, while Naruto just cocked his head in confusion.

"Eeh? Whatever. But what does he have then? A fever or something?" Naruto pressed on.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it. He'll be fine!" _At least, that's what I want to believe, _Kakashi mentally added, sighing as he placed the bottle of pills on the small table next to Sasuke's bed. "Well, I've got to take care of some things. You stay here Naruto, in case he wakes up." The blonde gave some weak protests ('Hey! You still didn't tell me!'), but it was useless since Kakashi just didn't pay any attention to him.

"Well, guess it's just you and me Sasuke-bastard," Naruto muttered fondly, crossing his arms as he sat on the wooden chair next to the Prince's bed again. "So, Kakashi won't tell me what ha— WHOA!" Naruto let out a yelp when Sasuke's arm shot out and grabbed his wrist, pulling him into bed with him. "S—Sasuke? What are you doing?" Naruto muttered nervously when the Prince started to nuzzle his neck and when said boy's arms wrapped themselves around his waist.

"No idea, must be the fever," Sasuke muttered in return, his warm breath tickling the blonde's neck. Naruto didn't find this position entirely… uncomfortable. Ah, who was he kidding? He loved it! "Naruto?"

"Hmm?" the blonde muttered tiredly. He was pressed against Sasuke's chest and when he felt it slowly rising up and down and when he heard the Prince's heartbeat, it was oddly relaxing him. Sasuke was silent for a long time and Naruto wondered for a moment whether or not he had fallen asleep again and he himself drifted off. Right before his eyes closed fully and he was lost to the world of dreams, he was sure he heard the Prince say something.

"You'll stay with me forever… right?"

--

--

"Kakashi? What's wrong? Is Sasuke alright?" Kakashi gave him a 'hmhm' as he wrapped his arms around Iruka's waist and pulled him closer.

"I'm not worried about him… Sasuke is a strong kid, he'll be fine. I'm worried about Naruto… this kid, he just keeps on raising questions." Iruka raised an eyebrow. "After Tsunade checked up on Sasuke, she talked to me about the kid too…"

**---Flashback---**

"Who's that brat?" The blonde doctor asked once they stood outside Sasuke's quarters.

"You know him?" Tsunade bit her lip hesitantly.

"I might… he looks familiar," she replied. Kakashi shrugged.

"His name is Naruto, Sasuke just showed up with him over a week ago and decided to keep him," Kakashi chuckled. "He was completely naked at the time and had passed out—Sasuke's grown quite fond of him. He's started to laugh and open up more when he's around… it's really amazing."

"You said his name is Naruto? Uzumaki?"

"Yes, how'd you know?"

"…I might've known his father."

**---End Flashback—**

Kakashi sighed worriedly. If it was true what Tsunade said after _that_… well, it certainly was _interesting_. That was certain.

"Kakashi? You alright?" Iruka cast him a worried glance, making the slightly taller man sigh.

"Yup, koi," he replied cheerfully, throwing him on the bed. _Ah well… everything will unfold itself in time. No point in thinking about it now!_

--

--

**An: **Eeeeeeh, Tsunade-baa-chan knows his father? But how can that be! Confused? I hope so. I live for that x3. Review please!


End file.
